She always seems relentlessly happy! Franklin is so sparkly and bubbly, she gets fan mail from Champagne. Her default expression is surprised joy.

"Hi, everybody!" said the beaming freshman as she walked into her welcome-to-Cal news conference Wednesday. "How is everybody? ... Quiet!"

Can Missy possibly be like this all the time? Will she crack under the pressure of the academic and athletic demands of Cal? How long before, reeling from a B-plus on a physics exam, she is seen flipping off a nude bicyclist or kicking a squirrel?

The first question came from a reporter who had a brace on one wrist. Before he could ask his question, Franklin said with genuine concern, "What happened to your wrist?"

Great, now Franklin's going to delay the news conference while she gets out her first-aid kit.

I asked Franklin if her new Cal teammates might start wondering if she ever has a bad-hair day. I clarified that I didn't mean that literally - from appearances, her hair's not going to be a problem - but, you know, grumpiness.

"Hopefully, I haven't gotten too grumpy yet," said Franklin, who then looked ahead. "When you have a really stressful day, you've got a lot of homework, practice was really hard and you're tired, it's awesome to have those teammates there to pick you up, lift your spirits."

A few minutes later Teri McKeever, Franklin's coach, alluded to the bad-hair question, and McKeever's comment brought to mind a crazy theory I have, that women are different from men, who in news conferences tend to be as emotionally shallow as the kiddie pool.

"One of the things I'm most anxious for," McKeever said, "I want to see her bad-hair day. I haven't seen it yet. And there was an article that said that (peppy persona) is going to crack. And I want to be there when it cracks.

"I know that sounds maybe negative, but my life experience as a 51-year-old tells me there are days when you can't be this happy, and you can't be this put together, and when that gets to be a place where the crack comes, I want to be there to pick her up. I'm excited about that. I want to be there to pick her up, and pick up the other women. That's what my calling is in life, and that's why I think (Franklin at Cal) is the right thing."

There was emotion in McKeever's voice.

"It's exciting," she said. "And it's as scary as s-, too."

Why scary? McKeever has coached greatness, most notably Natalie Coughlin, who was Missy long before Missy, a superstar with fierce will and a 1,000-watt smile. One difference is that Coughlin arrived at Cal as a reclamation project. McKeever and Cal helped revive Coughlin and turn her into an Olympics-eating beast.

Franklin arrives at age 18 the complete package, sound of mind and body, wearer of five Olympic medals - four of them gold - from the London Games. America sees her not merely as the hero of the 2012 Olympics, but as the hero of the 2016 Olympics. Don't screw it up, Teri, America says.

Franklin is a pop celebrity and a global star. On her 18th birthday Franklin attended an event at which she met Prince Harry, who led the party in singing "Happy Birthday." When Franklin and her parents flew back to the U.S. after the London Olympics, they walked into an airline VIP lounge and Missy was given a standing ovation.

"It was such an eye-opening moment," Franklin said, "and I think that was when it really hit me what just happened."

Franklin is essentially paying millions of dollars - the money she could have earned by turning pro instead of swimming at Cal for two years - to have a normal college experience. She will live in a normal dorm with a freshman swim-team roommate. She will attempt to fly under the radar. People magazine wanted to photograph Franklin moving in the dorm last Sunday. McKeever said no.

Not that the coach worries about Franklin handling the attention.

"She gets it," McKeever said. "I don't know if the people around her get it."

One focus of McKeever's team meetings the first few days has been getting the new-superstar-celeb-in-town business out in the open. OK, who's scared to have Missy Franklin as your teammate?

Franklin is a superstar in an individual sport, but she craves the team feeling. Swimming at the Olympics, under McKeever and with several of the Cal women, sealed the deal.

"To be honest," Franklin said, "it really wasn't the (historical Cal swim greatness) that drew me to the team. It was just how they were around each other at the Olympics. ... It was just how they were in practice, the things they did in practice, how they communicated with each other, how close they were. I was envious. ... I just felt that no one else could really do team like Teri, and like Cal, could."

The women were issued their Cal swim caps Tuesday. Franklin was like a kid joining her first Minnow team.

After committing to Cal, Franklin and her parents paid a weekend visit to the campus in January. Missy got into the pool for a workout prior to a dual meet.

"I was sitting on the bench before the meet," McKeever said. "She swam over and said, 'I can't believe I'm in the Cal pool. It's been my dream to swim here.'

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